Hair Oils Collection

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Hey girls. I'm sure you're all aware that 2012 was the year that using oil as a treatment for dry and damaged hair really took off, with countless variations from high end to high street and even Primark offering up different concoctions for us all to try, and I for one was fully on board with the hair oil hype. After trying out my first one (Babyliss Pro Argan Oil) it was love at first use and I was eager to see what else was out there on the market to give a helping hand to my frazzled ends. Needless to say, my hair's now in the best condition that I've ever had it, it's split end free and growing at a good rate and my only 'secret' would be the incorporation of oils into my hair care routine. Some are put on wet hair, some on damp, some on dry, most on both and are brilliant for using a 'finishing product' to keep any flyaways at bay on styled hair as well as using a healing leave-in treatment.

I know I've gone a bit overboard and don't need all these (there's 11), but hey - what can you do? There's a huge variety in my 'collection', ranging from the apparent 'best of the best' hair oil in the form of The Original Moroccan Oil, to the super pricey Ojon Rare Blend Hair Oil, the 'up and comer' in the popularity stakes: Macadamia Healing Oil Treatment, all the way down to the cheap and cheerful high street offerings of L'Oreal and Tresemme, plus a £2.50 tube picked up from Primark (Hask Argan Oil). There's obviously a range in prices and value, but also a range in quality and intensity, sizes that range from 10ml to 30ml to 100ml, and some bottles with pump dispensers and some with pourers. We all need variety in our lives.

L-R:
L'Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Oil, Tresmme Liquid Gold Restorative Complex, The Body Shop Mango Beautifying Oil, Lee Stafford Argan Oil Nourishing Miracle Oil, Avon Adance Techniques Moroccan Argan Oil, Babyliss Pro Argan Oil, Ojon Rare Blend Oil Total Hair Therapy, Hask Argan Oil from Moroccan, The Original Moroccan Oil, Osmo Berber Argan Oil, Macadamia Healing Oil Treatment.

Longest photo caption I've ever written right there! This post isn't really intended to review any of these oils in full because that would take me far too long and you'd be here all day reading it too, plus I've already reviewed most of these individually anyway. If you're interested in reading more about any of the oils pictured then here is a list of the ones that I have reviewed with a clickable link to their post:

- L'Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Oil

- Lee Stafford Argan Oil Nourishing Miracle Oil Treatment

- Avon Advance Techniques Moroccan Argan Oil

- Babyliss Pro Argan Oil

- Ojon Rare Blend Total Hair Therapy

It's quite hard to make much of a dent in any of these because with all of them only a tiny amount is needed with each use and a little goes a long way, plus with the way that I chop and change between which one I'm using I'm struggling to foresee even one of these running out any time soon - looks like I'm set for life on the oil front! There's none that I dislike at all, just some that are better suited to different circumstances or 'hair days', and some are more intense than others or better value for money, but all are good and I like using them all. I tend to stick to one that I use all the time for a week or two, and then I rotate things around and start using another for a while, but at the moment my three favourite ones are the Lee Stafford one, Babyliss and 'The Original', but ask me again in a month and I'm sure I'll reel off a different list.

Leave me a comment and tell me your current favourite!

*Just realised that I should have included some sort of non-bragging disclaimer to this: these have been accumulated over the course of about 10 months and weren't very expensive, and if they were then it was most likely a Christmas present! I also solemnly swear I will not buy any more!!

Review: L'Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Oil

L'Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Oil 100ml - RRP £9.99

Around 6 weeks ago I was lured into the temptation of trying this oil when the advertisements and blog features for it were literally everywhere and I just couldn't seem to get away from them; I couldn't resist and off I hopped to Superdrug to pick myself a bottle of this new hair oil by L'Oreal. It was on offer at the time with 1/3 off so I got it for £6.66 and at this very moment in time the same offer is on at Boots so go and grab yourself a bottle now! The bottle that I got is for 'all hair types' but there is another variant that is specifically for coloured hair (this one has a red pump if you're looking out for it).

This versatile hair product is intended to leave hair silky and soft without flyaways and can be used in multiple ways: as a pre-shampoo treatment to put on before washing, as a finishing product to perfect your style, or my personal favourite: apply while damp and use before blowdrying/leaving to dry naturally.

It is described as being a '5-in-1 miracle hair perfector' and the five hair benefits that is boasts are: 1) Hair has a glowing shine - check! I definitely agree that it leaves my hair shiny; not greasy. 2) Feels intensely nourished - half check! 'Nourished'? Yes. 'Intensely nourished'? I suppose this one is a little bit of a matter of opinion but for me I wouldn't say the nourishment levels blow me away - it is still pretty good though. 3) Flows with silky softness - check! I apply this when my hair is damp and once it is dry I can swish my hair about and look just like the typical girls on hair care adverts. 4) Seems sumptuously smooth - check! I always look out for the key words in hair products such as 'seems', 'appears' and 'looks' smooth/healthy/repaired/shiny because they shout out to me that it's effects are just an illusion and the benefits to your hair are just a quick fix. This is telling me that it will make my hair 'seem smooth', not actually 'be smooth' - does that make sense to anyone but me? But as long as they're upfront about it I'm okay with this not giving my hair long term benefits and only making it smooth for just the time being, probably until it's washed out, as long as my hair is smooth for a little bit it's okay. Finally, 5) looks beautifully perfected - check!

As it's important to some people when choosing a product I thought I would point out that this is silicone based and therefore not a very natural product; silicones provide a quick-fix beneficial illusion to the hair, like I was talking about in point #4 about making hair 'seem smooth'. If you are wanting something like this to be a permenant solution to damaged ends then you are looking in the wrong place as this isn't going to penetrate your hair shaft at all to repair and improve the condition of it. However, if what you instead want is a smoothing finishing treatment that L'Oreal should have instead named something like 'shine serum' instead of 'extraordinary oil' then this is something that you should try out.



The bottle looks luxurous and is made of glass too, making it look quite expensive and I love having this sitting on my dressing table, looking like a pretty bottle full of liquid gold. I really like that the bottle has a pump dispenser because often pouring straight from a bottle can lead to a bit of a mess and too much product being wasted. I'm really generous with the application of this and that's because my hair is very long, thick and dry - I need quite a lot of product with anything that I use anyway but it's so porous that it drinks up any oils and treatments like a dream, so although the directions on this are to use 'two pumps' I happily use 3-5 and my hair isn't left greasy, sticky or with a lot of build up but of course it's a matter of trial and error to find out what's right for you and your hair. I've done a bit of math with how long I've had this for and how often I use it and figured out I've used around 50 (give or take a couple) pumps of this and the pictures show how much is still left in the bottle so I've got a feeling I'm going to stuck with this for a long time!

This is my 'weekend oil' as it's my favourite one that I use when I'm at home, and my 'through the week oil' is the one that I love using while I'm at uni at that's the Babyliss Pro Argan Oil that I did a detailed review on here: link. The Babyliss oil is my all time number one favourite, but this L'Oreal is sitting pretty in second place of many that I have tried and when it costs less than £10.00 for 100ml of product it is one that I would recommend to anybody.

♥

Hair Care Haul | ft. FeelUnique & Boots

I have had two mini splurges this week and treated myself to some new products, not many, just a few. One lot was an order from www.FeelUnique.com and the other from a trip Boots. I've split this weeks haul into two parts; 'skin care and make-up' (posted yesterday, you can see it here: link) and 'hair care' (this one that you're reading right now).

L'Oreal Elvive Full Restore 5 Hair Mask
£5.22 for 300ml, from Boots.
I have never used this mask before but have heard good things about it and I am looking forward to giving it a try and seeing if it lives up to its promises of restoring my hair. 

Lee Stafford 'For Hair That Never Grows Past A Certain Length' Treatment

£7.99 for 200ml, from Boots. CURRENT OFFER: 3 LEE STAFFORD PRODUCTS FOR £12.

I went out and bought myself three new tubs of this treatment because I had finished off my second tub the day before and I am absolutely in love with this product. It was also a bargain being 3 for £12 and I saved myself a massive £11.97 because of the offer they had on. I am going to do a full review of this product in coming week singing its praises and explaining why I love it so much and the changes that it has made to my hair. In a nutshell this mask contains a protein complex that nourishes your hair follicles and scalp, helping hair to anchor to the scalp reducing loss and address the hair at a cellular level. This is quite a unique mask as it is one that focuses on improving hair condition from the very beginning by helping the roots, instead of trying to treat the already dead ends. 

Redken Extreme Anti-Snap Leave In Treatment

£12.55 for 250ml, from Feel Unique.

I absolutely fell in love with a sample Redken product that I received inside my August SheSaid Beauty Box and was browsing to buy the full sized version of it when I came across a whole array of different Redken products that looked absolutely amazing. I opted for the anti-snap treatment because the ends of my hair have been bleached to create the ombre effect and I often worry about their condition, despite smothering them in argon oil after every wash. I'm trying my best to grow my hair and it's obviously growing because I have visible roots, but the length doesn't appear to be increasing at the same rate and this is likely because the ends are snapping off. :(. So if this treatment does as it promises and protects the ends of my hair, whilst the Lee Stafford treatment nourishes my roots, then it should be no time at all before I have hair that would make even Rapunzel jealous.

♥